


A Sweater

by lovelyirony



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark at MIT, M/M, MIT Era, YES rhodey's mom loves tony, also yes i wanted rhodey to be a Sap, and i am a firm believer that they would use their college rings as wedding rings, anyways i think that they absolutely would be nerds, rhodey and tony are dorks, who woudln't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25710721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelyirony/pseuds/lovelyirony
Summary: The Rhodes family all have sweaters made each holiday. They're a big deal.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Comments: 16
Kudos: 168
Collections: Marvel





	A Sweater

**Author's Note:**

  * For [angxlsgrxce](https://archiveofourown.org/users/angxlsgrxce/gifts).



> happy reading! have a good day, and remember that you are loved!

Rhodey had told his mama that he was officially dating Tony. He was trying to downplay it, because his mother loved to make big deals and if he had acted any sort of the level of excited he actually was, then his mother would have insisted on an elaborate family dinner or maybe updating the family portrait. 

“We just started, I don’t want you interrogating him,” Rhodey warns. 

“I can interrogate him! You’ve been friends for years. You forget that he knows my phone number and has written me letters!” 

“He writes you letters? When did _that_ happen, Mama?” 

“You don’t need to know,” she says dismissively. “I’ll write to him when you go back to campus.” 

Rhodey doesn’t have anything to say to that. 

He gets back to their dorm room to find Tony experimenting with their good pan. 

“Drop the pan and answer as to why, apparently, you and my mother have a written correspondence?” 

“She wanted to thank me for the floral arrangement that we sent her for her birthday since we had to miss it for the engineering project.” 

“She didn’t thank me!” 

“Honey, I love you so much, you know that right?” Tony asks, looking up into his love’s eyes. 

“Yes, I do,” Rhodey says, kissing the tip of his nose. “Why, something come up?” 

“No, but your mother knows when a gift is yours and when it is not.” 

Rhodey pulls away, mock-offended. Tony laughs, pulling his body back in for a kiss. 

(God, he doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of that. He hopes he never does.) 

And that’s it, for a few months. It gets to be a chillier October, and then a dark and cold November. Fall is a favorite for Rhodey. He loves the changing weather, the way that leaves swirl on concrete. He loves when the wind turns a bit harsh, nipping at the nose. 

Tony? Oh, Tony was not made for the cold. 

“Boston fall can kiss my entire fucking _ass_ ,” he declares irritably, buried underneath two jackets and one entirely-too-fancy sweater that Rhodey is pretty sure that his mother packed. (Mrs. Stark has never stepped foot in Boston, and most likely never will short of graduation.) 

Rhodey kisses Tony’s forehead, laughing at the chill of the wind. 

“We need to get you a good jacket, honey.” 

“No shit, honey-pot. Unfortunately, I have no time to go and look for one, so stealing yours will have to suffice.” 

Rhodey has max two jackets. And one of them needs to be washed after an unfortunate incident with Spaghetti Thursday. 

So, he calls his mama. 

“Tony needs a sweater.” 

“You mean...?” 

“Yes,” Rhodey sighs. ‘You can make him a Rhodes Family Sweater.” 

Sweaters are a big deal to Mama Rhodes. She takes pride in her knitting skills, and for good reason. She knits love into each one, and has the best designs. Rhodey, however, doesn’t like most of the sweaters and wears them for family events only, or on laundry day. 

But he knows that Tony will love the sweater. He loves anything that has to do with family, always has. He’s making Rhodey make a very bad Christmas card, complete with Dum-E in the frame and distant facial expressions. 

\- 

Mama Rhodes sends it with a note, and a reminder to Rhodey to _please check your mailbox your grandmother has sent you a card._

Tony nearly tears up when he lifts a burgundy-colored sweater with a gold “A” on the front. 

_I was going to do a T, but I thought A suited this one better. I’ll make you another one! All you have to do is say the magic words, Tony. I love you.  
-Mama _  
(Okay so Tony does tear up and cry like a baby.) 

He wears the sweater everywhere. Seriously. He wears it to class, he wears it on date nights, he pushes the sleeves forward so that only the tips of his fingers are showing. 

Rhodey begrudgingly has to thank his mother for making his boyfriend so happy. 

-

Three years later, there’s another sweater. It’s after they’ve completed their master’s, and they’re exhausted, and Rhodey’s not exactly sure where he’s being stationed, but knows where he is in Tony’s heart. He’s staying there. 

“Mama, I need a favor. A big one.” 

The new sweater is still that same shade of burgundy, just in a softer yarn. 

There’s nothing on the front, but on the back, at the top, between the shoulder blades, here is what it says: 

_Rhodes._  
It’s simple. It’s effective. 

And when Rhodey proposes-he doesn’t have a ring-it’s the sweater. 

“Mama knit you a new one,” Rhodey says. “I, ah, had a special request.” 

Tony looks up at him, disbelief written all over his face. 

“You mean...?” 

“Yeah baby,” Rhodey says, smiling. “I would be happy for forever if you would do me the honor of marrying me.” 

Tony grins, launching himself into his arms. 

“Yes,” he says, peppering Rhodey’s face with millions of tiny kisses. 

“We need to go ring-making,” Tony says. “I can’t just not wear a ring.” 

“About that...” 

\- 

So technically, you have about fifteen or twenty different options to customize college rings. 

But there are some customization options that aren’t done through the company. 

Which is fine with Tony and Rhodey. 

They engrave it themselves. 

Rhodey gets an “A” right at the center of his. Tony gets a “J.”


End file.
